PATA’s CEO Challenge has been identified as a ‘keystone’ event in the global effort to lead the travel and tourism industry’s response to climate change.United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General Mr Francesco Frangialli (pictured) said: “The UN system has been charged to lead the global response to climate change and UNWTO is working hard to ensure that the tourism sector plays its part effectively.
    “We welcome PATA’s CEO Challenge, which will be an important leadership contribution to this effort and a keystone building block in our industry’s long-term drive to minimise our carbon footprint,” he added.
    PATA’s CEO Challenge is the fourth in a series of leadership events on this compelling theme: starting with UNWTO’s second Climate Change and Tourism conference in Davos, Switzerland, October 1-3; a tourism ministerial meeting in London in November; and, in April 2008, the airline community’s third Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva.
    The Association will participate in the Davos UNWTO conference and UNWTO will participate in the CEO Challenge, thus ensuring close collaboration between the two communities, as UNWTO formulates its global travel and tourism response to climate change.
    PATA President and CEO Mr Peter de Jong said he looked forward to contributing to UNWTO’s global efforts. “We strongly support these initiatives and intend to incorporate their conclusions and recommendations into our CEO Challenge,’’ he said.
 
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